Chorzów (Poland): India’s two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra secured a second-place finish in the javelin throw at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meet in Chorzów, Poland, on Friday. Though Neeraj won his third medal of the season, he could not quite replicate his season-best performance from the Doha Diamond League, which had also bagged him a silver medal.
Battling wet conditions at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meet in Chorzów, Chopra, considered India’s greatest-ever athlete, struggled for his rhythm but did enough to continue his successful run in the season.
With a below-par effort of 84.14m on his sixth and final attempt, Chopra, who hails from Haryana and is employed with the Indian Army, edged past Grenada’s two-time world champion Anderson Peters, who managed a best of 83.24m.
The 27-year-old Chopra, who hurled the spear past the 90m mark for the first time in Doha last week, had started his campaign at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial with a foul and then followed it up with 81.20m and then made a deliberate four on his next attempt. Chopra, the golden boy of Indian athletics, intentionally overstepped on his next turn and threw 81.80m with his fifth throw before achieving his best distance of the day in his final attempt.
Germany’s Julian Weber continued his strong form and once again got the better of Chopra, clinching top honours with a winning throw of 86.12m. Weber had hurled the javelin to 91.06m in Doha to win the gold medal, which was also the first time he went past the 90 m mark in his career.
The silver in Poland is the third medal for the season for Neeraj Chopra, who made history by bagging a gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and followed it up with a silver medal in Paris 2024.
Chopra started his season by winning the Potch Invitational Meet in Potchefstroom, South Africa, with an 84.52m throw in April before bettering his own personal best and the national record to 90.23m at the Doha Diamond League last week.
(IANS)
